faint
pronunciation
How to pronounce faint in British English:
UK [feɪnt]
How to pronounce faint in American English:
US [feɪnt]
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- Noun:
- a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient blood to the brain
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- Verb:
- pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain
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- Adjective:
- barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
- lacking clarity or distinctness
- lacking strength or vigor
- weak and likely to lose consciousness
- indistinctly understood or felt or perceived
- lacking conviction or boldness or courage
Word Origin
- faint
- faint: [13] Faint comes from Old French faint, which was originally the past participle of the verb faindre, feindre ‘pretend, shirk’ (whence English feign). This meant ‘pretended, simulated’, ‘lazy, shirking’, and ‘cowardly’, and all these senses were originally taken over by English. None now survives except the last, in the phrase faint heart, but in their place the underlying notion of ‘feebleness’ has produced ‘not bright, dim’ and ‘weak and dizzy’. The verb, based on the second of these, developed in the late 14th century. The variant spelling feint, used of printed lines, was introduced in the mid 19th century.=> feign
- faint (adj.)
- c. 1300, "enfeebled; wearied, exhausted," from Old French faint, feint "false, deceitful; sham, artificial; weak, faint, lazy, indolent, cowardly," past participle of feindre "hesitate, falter, be indolent, show weakness, avoid one's duty by pretending" (see feign). Also from c. 1300 as "deceitful; unreliable; false." Meaning "wanting in spirit or courage, cowardly" (a sense now mostly encountered in faint-hearted) is from early 14c. From early 15c. of actions, functions, colors, etc., "weak, feeble, poor." Meaning "producing a feeble impression upon the senses" is from 1650s.
- faint (v.)
- c. 1300, "grow weak, become enfeebled," also "lack courage or spirit, be faint-hearted," and "to pretend, feign;" from faint (adj.). Sense of "swoon, lose consciousness" is from c. 1400. Also used in Middle English of the fading of colors, flowers, etc. Related: Fainted; fainting. For Chaucer and Shakespeare, also a transitive verb ("It faints me").
- faint (n.)
- c. 1300, "faintness, faint-heartedness," from faint (adj.). From 1808 as "a swoon."
Example
- 1. Only a faint aureole around the sun is visible .
- 2. The moment of coordinated macropolicies aimed at recovery is a faint memory .
- 3. Only the hills sent a faint echo back .
- 4. We will show you how to take fast action when someone is about to faint .
- 5. If the person starts to feel faint again , lay them back down and elevate their legs again .